Mail box



May 6, 1947. H. LOGsDoN MAIL BOX Filed Aug. 30, 1945 Patented May 6, V1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MAIL BOX Harry Logsdon, llewton;v Iowa Application August 30, 1945,y Serial No; 613,469

(CL. 23-2-24l 4 Claims.

l. This invention relates to mailboxes, and this application claims a, letter compartmentforming abportion'l of the mail box asl shown in my Patent 25382.',645; which' claims the magazinel holder portion` of the mail boX.

The principal objectof the inventionV is to provideV a' letter compartment or holder for slidably mounting upon the face.v off theunit-asdescribed and shown in the aforesaid patent',- and' wherein letters maybe deposited'by the postman and readily taken therefrom by the recipientA byl merely lowering the slidable compartment.

Another object of the invention is to` provide a rectangular? and relatively shallow' letterv com"- partment orV holder, open at the back and at its upper and lower ends, and having' the- Vlateral marginsdeini'ng the open back portion turnedY inwardly` ina common plane as means for slidably engaging a complement'ally formed back support andj closure', there being a web extended horizontally' from the fixed back closure and' support into the'lower end" of thefslidably mounted letter compartment for intercepting and retaining let-` ters as placed in the compartment' throughA the upper and open' end thereof, and'r means for resilientl'y holding the letter compartment to its normal raised position on the back' support', wherebytheletter'recipient may'easily secure the letter from the compartment by depressing the compartment' for the purpose of exposing the letter, and then allowing theA compartment? to resume its'normal' elevated position upon theback support.

With the foregoing objects in View, together with such other and additional objects andv advantages as may appear from the specification, attention is directed to the accompanying drawing as embodying certain preferred structural' features of the invention, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the slidable letter compartment or holder, as mounted upon a suitable back support, said back support comprising in this showing a magazine holder or receptacle constituting the subject matter of my said patent.

Figure 2 is a horizontal cross section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical oi Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a vertical of Figure 2.

The present invention is shown in the drawing of my said patent, and comprises an elongated and relatively narrow letter compartment or holder,

section on the line 3-3 section on the line 4 4 represented generally at 5, closed at the rivets are passed for front and sides: as indicated at 6i andi 1, open mediallyat the back thereof from t'op toy bottom as indicated ata, andfopen at its upper andi lower ends as indicated at SI and" Hh The lateral mar-` gin's of' the sidesy 'l are turned perpendicularly inward from top to bottom, at the backor inner side of the compartment, asl indicated at 1a', to form and provide flanges for strengthening the structure and also for a iurther'purpose tol be lateripointed! out; The compartment i's-madeof, sheetimetal, or the like.

suitable support and back closure- |I is provided for the letter compartment or holder 5, and this support may be secured to a post (not shown)` or to any other desirable mounting, in conventional manner. This supportk and back closure H as shown here, and in the drawing of my patent, comprises an elongated, rectangular box, andi is provided with a lid I2 hinged at I2a tothe rear side of the box and arranged to close down over the upper end of the box as well as the upper and open end of the letter compartment or holder 5. The lateral margins of the frontal side of this box-support are slotted longitudinally as shown at Il a, in a. parallel relation. The lower end of the box-support H is closed, as at Hb, and this bottom closure or web is extended forwardly beyond the frontal facs of the support as shownv at llc, to form a loose closure for thelower end of the letter compartment 5, when the latter is slidably seated upon the frontal face of the support H, in manner now to be described. For this mounting the compartment or letter holder 5 ispositioned against the support H with its lowerl open endV il) slidablyl receiving the web extension- Hc ofthe box closure I lb, and the compartment is slidably held in place by means of' studs or rivets i3 anchored at their outer ends in the upper ends of the inturned anges 'laf of the compartment 5, the inner endsof these rivets being upset or spread for slidably over-lying the margins of the slots Ha, through which slots the the purpose of the slidable connection referred to.

A pair of coiled draw springs I4 are secured at their lower ends Ma to the inner ends of small bolts or studs l5 which are passed through and anchored in the anges 'la of the compartment 5, and through the slots Ila of the box-support l I, and these springs are then drawn taut and are secured at their upper ends, as at Mb to studs l5 passed through and anchored in the upper ends of the sides of the box-support il immediately inward of the frontal face thereof. Thus the normal action of these springs is to draw the compartment or letter holder upward to its closed position. The extension web IIc which passes freely into the lower end of the oompartment 5, is slotted at each side or end as indicated at I Id for slidably receiving the inturned flanges 1a of the compartment 5. Thus the web extension IIc remains in its fixed and stationary position as the compartment or holder 5 is moved downward against the action of the springs I4, whereby any letters within the said compartment are brought conveniently to the hand of the person operating the device. While the support and back closure or box-support II, as here shown, is a duplication of the showing and drawing of my said patent, this is done merely for the purposes of convenience and for fully illustrating the nature of this present application. Hence any other desirable form of support or backing for the said letter compartment or holder 5 may be employed in lieu of that shown here. The additional, unidentified and undescribed elements as shown mounted upon or in the box-support I I as here illustrated, are not part of the present invention, and are included merely to properly link this present application with said co-pending application.

It is thought that the construction, use and operation of the invention will be readily understood from the foregoing description, and while .I have here shown and described a preferred embodiment thereof, the structural features thereof may be changed as desired, within the scope of the claims.

I claim: f

1. In a device of the kind described a rectangular letter compartment closed at front and sides, open medially at the back thereof from top to bottom, and open at its upper and lower ends, the lateral margins of the sides being turned perpendicularly inward from top to bottom in a common plane and in parallel relation to form anges defining the open back portion, a support and back closure for the said letter compartment, the same comprising a back plate slotted laterally in parallel relation conformably to the spacing of the flanges of the letter compartment and so that said flanges will overlie the slots when the elements are positioned together, a xed bottom web or plate extended horizontally from the lower portion of the said back plate and slotted at its ends at its juncture with the back plate for receiving the inturned lateral flanges of the letter compartment, studs passed through the upper ends of the inturned flanges of the letter compartment and freely through the slots of the said back plate, and coiled draw springs secured at their lower ends under tension to the inturned flanges of the letter compartment and at their upper ends to the upper end of the back plate at each side thereof, where- 'back portion being by the letter compartment is normally and resiliently held to its upper-most and closed position on the back support.

2. In a device of the kind described a rectangular letter compartment closed at front and sides, open medially at the back thereof from top to bottom, and open at its upper and lower ends, a vertically positioned support and back closure for the letter compartment, the same including a back plate upon which the letter compartment is positioned for vertical slidable movement, a web extended from the lower portion of the back plate freely and horizontally into the letter compartment through the open back face thereof for providing a false bottom therein, and means for resillently securing the letter compartment upon the said back support so that it will normally be yieldably supported to its uppermost position on the back support or plate, but may be pressed downward at will.

3. In a device of the kind described, a letter compartmentl closed at front and sides but open medially at back from top to bottom, said open defined by inturned flanges lying in a common plane and extended in parallel relation, the upper and lower endsV of the letter compartment being also open, a back support and closure for the letter compartment for vertically securing it to a post or the like and upon which the letter compartment is slidably mounted for vertical movement, a bottom plate extended horizontally from the lower portion of the back support and closure freely into the lower end of the letter` compartment, said bottom plate being slotted inward through its ends at its juncture with the back support and closure for slidably receiving the inturned flanges of the letter compartment for slidably mounting same upon the back support and closure, and means for resiliently securing the letter compartment upon the back support and closure whereby it will normally be held resiliently to its upper-most position but may be depressed at will for removing letters from the letter compartment.

4. In a device according-to claim 3, said means for securing the letter compartment to the back support and closure including slots formed in the back support and closure in laterally spaced and parallel relation and in registry with the said flanges of the letter compartment, and a pair of draw springs secured at their lower ends under tension to the inturned flanges of the letter compartment and at their upper ends to the upper portion of the back support and closure, in alignment with the said slots of the back support and closure, whereby the letter compartment will be normally and resiliently supported to its upper-most position, but may be depressed for removing letters from the letter compartment.

HARRY LOGSDON. 

